


in which a necessary part of moving becomes part of a plot to scam people out of their hard earned money

by JamLabs



Series: MGS Summer Games 2020 [2]
Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Anything for that sweet sweet GMP, Gambling for fun and profit, Gen, Taking the company picnic and both turning it into a competetion but also making a profit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25980274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamLabs/pseuds/JamLabs
Summary: In which MSF has a "leftover day" right before they move camp, and have to get rid of all perishable food. Of course some people will take advantage of it. Challenging the Boss to an eating competition is NEVER a good idea.
Relationships: Dragonfly (MGS OC) & Stingray (MGS OC)
Series: MGS Summer Games 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885432
Kudos: 1
Collections: Metal Gear Solid - Summer Games -2020





	in which a necessary part of moving becomes part of a plot to scam people out of their hard earned money

Dragonfly smirks as she collects another large sum of money from a poor soldier who trudges up to her. “Thank you for playing~” She calls, the disgruntled man flipping her the bird, only making her laugh. She flips through her money and shoots another grin at her partner in crime. Stingray grins right back. “This is almost too easy,” Dragonfly crows. “Why do people keep betting against me?” 

Stingray shrugs. “Hell if I know. What I _really_ want to know is why people keep betting _against_ the boss.” The two women look over to where their Boss is sitting, towers of plates stacked up in front of him. Another soldier steps up to the plate, looking nervous. They sit down, and another plate is placed in front of both of the competitors, much to the delight and cheers of those watching. It’s leftover day at base camp. If they don’t get rid of the food they’ve had stored up, it’s going to rot and go bad once they move camp. Sure, they have coolers, but who's really going to trust a cooler to keep raw meat cold for days?

Dragonfly loves leftover day. It’s such a good way to get money and cash in on bets. She’s the best gambler in MSF, and she’s teaching her friend and protege Stingray on how to swindle people too. Number one rule in the MSF gambling handbook: _Never_ bet against the Boss. The second was added on the whiteboard in the break tent by their new(ish) XO: **_For the love of god stop making bets with Dragonfly._** She's flattered, honestly. Of course, the message was erased soon after (it's not like she wants people to know just how much they can lose by joining the MSF gambling ring), but the message still circulates around.

She’s only taken someone’s salary, what, twice? Three times? Eh, who’s counting. Probably Commander Miller, but who cares about what he thinks. Her partner in crime runs a poison dart through her fingers and aims it at the neck of a fellow soldier. She doesn't fire, but pretends as if she would. Stingray is in RnD, and just like everyone else who works in that god forsaken department, she is absolutely nuts. Obsessed with poisons, and equally obsessed with things to apply those poisons too, there's a reason Stingray has quickly gained a reputation among even the crazies in RnD. Yes, some of them think it's a great idea to make everything under the sun out of cardboard, but Stingray actively invents new toxins to coat her darts in. She's got the research fever like most of the other scientists, and tries to find a way to maximize her time awake to capitalize on the limited time she has. Dragonfly has won so much money off of people taking Stingray’s one minute energy drink. It's a mix of various stimulants that makes people go insanely productive. They gave it to the Boss. Once. 

There was so much blood clean up.

He said he could taste colors.

Never again. 

Stingray nudges her, and Dragonfly starts from her daze. The Boss has finished yet another plate of leftovers and doesn’t even look winded. “Just got Orchid out.” She says, somewhat smugly. The man trudges up to them and narrows his eyes. Dragonfly holds out her hand expectantly. Orchid Mantis is a regular. He knows how much he owes.

“Yeah yeah, I know.” He grits out. “You’ll get your stupid statue next week.” 

Dragonfly blows him a kiss, and Stingray waves him off. “How do you think the Boss does that?” Stingray asks. “You’ve been with him for like, forever.” 

Dragonfly hums. It’s true, she has been with the Boss for a long, long time. He took her in when she was disgraced by her army, hearing shot from the lightning bolt that left half her body scarred. She’s been with him ever since. For years she's followed her Boss, and she's ready to follow him for even more. Stingray is a newer recruit, but Dragonfly knew she had to recruit the woman to her cause the moment she chucked a handful of poisoned darts at Commander Miller. “Well,” Dragonfly says, lowering her voice so that only her partner in crime can hear. “That camo he’s wearing drains a lot of his energy. He can keep it up by eating. So, in a competition like this…” 

Stingray’s eyes light up with glee. “He literally can’t lose as long as he’s wearing it.” She says. “Holy shit!” 

“Exactly.” 

One of the newest recruits walks up to their table. Dragonfly wracks her brain to remember the name of this kid. It slips between her fingers like smoke and she puts on a charming face to hide it. “Hey!” She chirps. “How can we help you?”

The soldier puffs up. “I’m gonna be the one to beat the Boss!” He claims. Stingray shoots her an amused look. “I wanna sign up to compete.” 

“Signups are right here.” She says. She pulls out a form and taps it with a pen, handing it over to the soldier. “Fill that out and give it right back, alright? Don’t forget to fill out the betting form! There’s a pool of a few hundred dollars that could be yours if you win!” 

She sees the greed shine in his eyes and she smirks internally. Jackpot. Some would argue it’s cruel to manipulate the newer recruits like this. But she would argue that they have to learn somehow. You’ll never win if you fight the Boss. Ever. What better way to enforce that message than one that turns a profit for her? There’s a clunk of a chair as another person joins them behind the table. Stingray's darts fall into her hand, ready to throw, but quickly stands down when she sees that it's Walker Cicada. They plop down in their chair and light up a cigarette. “How long until Miller shuts this joint down?” They ask. 

Dragonfly tilts her head before shaking her hand in a so-so sort of move. “Who knows,” she says with a shrug. "Could be in a few hours, could be in a minute. Depends on how much he's heard Boss' eaten so far."

“I’ve had reliable information that he’ll be distracted for the next two or so hours.” Cicada says. They brush their hair out of their face and breathe out a cloud of smoke. “You’ve got time.” 

“Uh, I don’t think so...” Stingray says nervously. She points out to where the barracks are located. The crowd of soldiers parts and Dragonfly shoots to her feet. The glint of light off of yellow shades is all she needs to know. 

The soldier filling out the entry application turns back to her and she snatches the paper out of his hands. “Yes, yes thank you for entering! Go fight the Boss or whatever, I’ll get back to you when you owe me--” She shoves his form into a folder, locking her earnings in a box and handing it to Stingray. “You know the plan.” Dragonfly says, right before Stingray takes off. 

“Whoops.” Cicada says. They stamp out their cigarette and give her a sheepish grin.

Dragonfly rolls her eyes. Their information is always shitty. Thank god they’re not an actual infiltration agent. That would be an actual disaster. Miller approaches her table and she snaps to attention. She can’t see it, but she bets he’s narrowing his eyes at her. “Dragonfly.” He says. “Have you been… enabling this again?” 

“No sir! You know how competitive people get on leftover day!” She lies. 

“Uh huh. And where’s your friend? That woman you took under your wing?” 

Dragonfly shrugs. “Probably out watching the fun like everyone else. Dingo made it through at least five servings, which was pretty impressive.” 

Commander Miller sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “You always make things worse.” He grumbles. “Why everything has to become a marketable competition is beyond me.” 

She laughs at him. “Sir, with all due respect, if you could convince Boss to do those eating competitions, I know you would. The only difference is I change funds internally, and you externally.” Miller pinkens, caught in something he knows is the truth. She knows both of her superiors. Hell, she’s been here even longer than Miller has. “And, I know if this was, say, a beach volleyball competition, you’d--” 

“That’s enough!” Miller snaps. The tips of his ears are bright red. “You’re dismissed. I need to talk to Snake.” 

“Of course you do.” She teases. “Gonna ask him for another fight?” 

Miller’s jaw sets and he backs away from her table. She waves him off with a smile. “You’ve certainly got guts,” Cicada says. 

Dragonfly rolls her eyes. They say that as if it’s hard to get a reaction out of Miller. Especially from someone like her, who only really respects the Boss as an authority. Sure, she’ll follow his orders, if she agrees with them. But when you follow one man for years, you start to only look to him for guidance and orders. "Miller's a softy once you know what buttons to press." She says with a shrug. Cicada laughs and shakes their head.

"Yeah, that's true." They say. "Still, most people are afraid of a beating."

She dips her head absentmindedly. "Mm, maybe." She says. "I'm not really active in combat anymore." She taps the left side of her head, pointing out the very obvious and branching scar. She's lucky it only really affected her hearing, and not her sight.

There are shouts and groans as the eating competition is shut down, and the Boss looks particularly pleased with himself. He immediately takes half of his camo off, and Dragonfly takes a quick peek to see who’s staring. So what if she’s got a few side bets on who’s gonna make a move on their Boss? And so what if she can “sell” gossip for an extra serving of dessert or a nice smooth stone from a mission? Information is power, especially in a place like this. And although she loves it here, she knows how to keep her head afloat. Know more than everyone else, and exploit that as much as you can get away with.

She folds up her chair and puts it away in its bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She breaks down her folding table and carries the thing under one arm, picking up Stingray's wooden chair with her free hand. “See you tomorrow,” She calls, carrying everything back towards her tent where Stingray is waiting. Her apprentice is already tallying the money that they now owe people, and that people owe her. She always manages to make a profit, so she doesn’t mind a few losses every now and then.

"Things are looking up," Stingray says as Dragonfly adds their furniture to the already boxed up pile at the back of their tent. "Definitely made more than we lost. Commander Miller interrupting didn't cost as much as last time... only one person bet on it. Most people bet on themselves, which is kind of hilarious."

Dragonfly fist bumps Stingray before she flops down on her cot. "Make sure to pack it all up by bedtime," she says. "We get up bright and early tomorrow to find a new base camp. Stingray says something in return but Dragonfly is too distracted to hear her. Another successful day... maybe she should take up that idea she suggested to tease Commander Miller. They should organize a volleyball tourney when they make it back to the beach. It'll be a nice fun competition... maybe she won't set up her betting booth then. It'll be fun.

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this prompt and immediately thought about Dragonfly scamming fellow soldiers out of their hard earned money by abusing a competition taking place. Dragonfly and Stingray are both She/Her, and Cicada is They/Them. Yes nonbinary people existed in the 70s. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!


End file.
